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Reddit post about Seattle race relations creates quite a stir

It began a couple days ago on the Seattle page of Reddit, the Conde Nast-owned Internet bulletin board that amounts to a giant electronic water cooler where everyone wears a mask.

A white newcomer to Seattle had moved a month ago into the Central District, the historically black part of Seattle. “I have to say that I have never experienced racism in such an open and in your face way as I have here,” the poster, going by the handle 74NK, said. 74NK later explained, “While sitting on my front porch I got told I was ‘Bringing the neighborhood down’ by a couple walking down the street. When I tried to introduce myself to the lady, asking her name she replied with ‘We’re black people that’s all you need to know.’ There have been others, but that’s the most recent. Like I said I’ve lived here for about a month and have had 4 or 5 similar instances. Maybe my neighbors are just twats.”

I’ve written here before about Seattle’s long history of racial segregation and the University of Washington website, Segregated Seattle, documenting it. Over the last half-century the segregation of Seattle has gone from de jure–mandated by racist laws and governmental policies–to de facto–without sanction of law. But to my mind, housing segregation still exists here. It’s actually pretty obvious to anyone driving around all over town like I do refereeing youth soccer matches. However, I can’t say the situation here is more extreme than any of the many other places I lived or worked in across the country before becoming New To Seattle.

According to the 2010 census, Seattle’s population of 608,660 was 66% white, 14% Asian, 8% black, 7% Latino, 1% native American, and 4% everything else. Bucking U.S. urban trends, Seattle ranks among the top five large cities in percentage of white population.

Now, I’m not sure of the link between de facto housing segregation and poor overall race relations. After all, people these days can live anywhere they can afford to live. But from the Reddit thread alone, there sure seems to be an underlying discontent on this front, one that surfaces publicly only infrequently.

Besides offering anonymity, Reddit has one other prominent feature: Users can vote to enhance or decrease the prominence of a previous comment. “I’m of mixed race and have never experienced as many uncomfortable white people and latent racism in the Midwest or East Coast as I have here,” said a poster on the thread named ericjs. After getting whacked, the commenter later added, “Thanks for downvoting my telling of a prejudiced experience here. You’re clearly so open-minded, progressive, and care about diversity and people of other cultures. Instead of guiltily rejecting any criticism, why not look at some local problems and think about them.”

qxnt, living in upscale lower Queen Anne, opined, “I think it’s because Seattle is very white, and de-facto segregated along class lines. There’s a lot less daily interaction between blacks and whites than in a place like Chicago or New York; even though the affluent white liberals of Seattle will happily vote for affirmative action and talk your face off about equality and civil rights, they’ll also cross the street when they see a young black man wearing low-riding jeans coming down the sidewalk.”

This drew a concurrence from brdistheword, no neighborhood given. “Seattle isn’t really progressive, either… It’s a lot of do-gooder “liberal” white people who think they’re progressive. I found it horrifically racist, in a backhanded manner… People tensing up if a person of color came near them or took a bus seat next to them, sideways looks, things like that. My basis of comparison are places like Philly, NYC, DC, etc that are actually diverse, though. Seattle is also way segregated, too. The distribution of wealth there was unnerving and they really don’t like poor people there.”

Not everyone agreed. “I keep hearing all this ‘Seattle is full of white people’ stuff and I can’t figure out where exactly they all are,” wrote dappijue from Seward Park, a neighborhood along Lake Washington with a startling mix of grand mansions and run-down homes. “Like 80% of the people I work with and see at the gym, stores, etc are minorities. I’ve never been in a more diverse city.”

There seemed to be agreement that 74NK’s problems with the neighbors might be a function of gentrification–whites moving into a black neighborhood, driving up prices and forcing poorer folk to move. But efforts to label it reverse racism were quickly shot down. “There’s no such thing as ‘reverse racism’ there is just racism,” wrote muttmonster. “Either you judge somebody based on their race or not.”

Residents of the Central District got some support. “I live in the CD,” wrote someone going by warriorsmurf, “and I grew up in a neighborhood just like this in Philadelphia, similar diversity, similar socio-economic status. For all that, it’s [Central District] nicer than where I grew up. Not so much graffiti and s–t on the streets. People are friendly, but not too friendly. I think the panhandler in front of the Walgreens threw a rock at my dog once, but like … that’s one asshole. By Philly standards it’s basically a tolerant f–king paradise. If you don’t like it, Seattle has many other fine neighborhoods.”

The Reddit thread was wide-ranging. There were denunciations of “pseudo-intellectualism” and comparisons with other areas besides Philadelphia, including East Los Angeles, Boston, New York City and the Other Washington. One mini-thread attempted to link local racial issues with a Washington State tax structure that, due to the lack of a state income tax, depends upon the state sales tax, which disproportionately hits the poor.

While most of the discussion focused on race relations involving blacks, there were some zingers concerning other backgrounds. One, concerning a popular local hamburger stand chain, came from bluemirror, apparently of Asian heritage: “I was at Dick’s, and a car of white guys said, ‘They don’t serve rice here!’

Despite some profanity and occasional overt suggestions of mental deficiencies, the Reddit thread was a civil discussion. All water cooler talk–for now, anyway.

U name it I experienced it everything just short of physical violence and I still like white people because I grow up living in the white suburbs of California, Seattle and Canada so I knew that the white people in Bellingham, WA was not a reflection of the average white person.

I now live in a city in Mississippi that is 96% white and Bellingham is so racist it makes this Mississippi city seem like a racial paradise here in Mississippi the blacks and the whites get along great, I must say that I was so surprised to see that when I moved here from California Mississippi could teach those people in Bellingham and the surrounding areas a thing or two about race relations. Mississippi has aced race relations! But I have to move because it is not many things to do here outside of eating, sleeping, working, going to church or a high school ball game and I require the city over the country any day now.

I’m a black female I lived in Seattle for a short time and I loved it I, loved it. If I was going to live anywhere in Washington State it would be Seattle. Seattle is like Disneyland for a Bisexual Liberal such as myself and my family and I plan on moving back to Seattle in the near future. If you’re black and you want to experience some real racism visit Bellingham, WA the absolutely most racist place I have ever been Bellingham makes Seattle look like Atlanta, GA. If you are Black stay as far away from Bellingham, WA as you can get.

It’s even worse in the suburbs. We moved here from L.A. in 1995. We’re white but lived in a mostly Latino neighborhood there. My kids were easy to spot on the playground, as mostly Asians were enrolled at their small Christian school. Lack of diversity was a difficult adjustment when we moved to Southeast King County. Shocked by racist comments by someone down the street on our first (and only) visit. We later adopted two children from Vietnam and they experienced a bit of racist comments – some just plain dumb. (“What was it like during the war,” a classmate asked my daughter, born in 1993.) Race/culture are complicated issues. My daughter was very good in math. In class one day with the other Asian kids, they were complaining about the pressure to succeed they receive from their parents. They got to my daughter, who responded, “Hey, my parents are white.”

Over my four decades as a journalist, I have written a lot of stories involving racial issues. It is not uncommon for a racial majority (in Seattle, whites) to think everything is fine while a racial minority (here, blacks) perceives a real problem. That the Reddit thread was started by a white person complaining about being dissed by blacks, rather than the other way around, is unusual but perhaps more illuminating. I think many racial tensions have economic roots, such as the issue of Central District gentrification.

I agree with you there that most racial tensions have economic roots I have noticed that to this is why one must work hard and learn to pool there resources with others as well as learning how to blend and fit in where they can get in because as we all should know by now if we haven’t learned is that acceptance is for sale.

I find this interesting as I grew up in central wash. and went to school in eastern wash. and have found Seattle to be far less racist & much more accepting of different backgrounds. Although I’ve spent most if my time in the U district, downtown Seattle, & West Seattle. I’m not sure what the other neighborhoods are like.